Fertiliser Dependency

Abstract

Global nitrogen and phosphorus are largely affected by our farming. At the beginning of the twentieth century, nitrogen and phosphorus budgets were either balanced or excesses were small. Yet within fifty years, excess global soil nitrogen almost doubled and phosphorus eight fold. With a burgeoning world population it is anticipated that there will need to be increasing global crop levels (perhaps by as much as 80% up to 2050) and increases in livestock production even more (+115%) due to the growing middle class in places such as China. Alternative management of livestock production systems will be needed. A shift in human diets, with poultry or pork replacing beef, could reduce nutrient flows in countries with intensive ruminant production.